The financial vulnerability of older Australians continues to be a pressing concern, with individuals aged 65 and over suffering the most substantial losses due to scams.
Remote access scams were particularly problematic, with reported losses amounting to $229 million in 2022 - second only to investment scams.
Worringly, victims of remote access scams lost $17,328, and the median loss was $5,000, with most losses occurring via bank transfer.
“Australians lost more money to scams than ever before in 2022, but the true cost of scams is much more than a dollar figure as they also cause emotional distress to victims, their families and businesses,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.Read more: https://t.co/3zTXG3bL27
— Scamwatch_gov_au (@Scamwatch_gov) April 17, 2023
How is it perpetrated?
Accoring to Scamwatch, the typical victim of a remote access scam is a woman aged 65 or over residing in New South Wales.
Scammers usually contact victims through a phone call while they are at home, tricking or frightening them into providing remote access to their device or computer.
The scammer may initiate contact following a legitimate inquiry with the victim's ISP about problems with their NBN connection.
Victims may not immediately realise that the scammer has accessed their bank accounts to perform a transfer.
In total, Scamwatch received 11,792 reports about remote access scams in 2022, indicating a 24.9% decrease, however, the reported losses increased by 32.6% to $21.7 million.